Provost Candidate Sheryl Tucker to Speak to Campus

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Sheryl Tucker, provost candidate

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sheryl Tucker, one of three candidates for the position of provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas, will visit campus and make a public presentation at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21,  in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.

Tucker will speak about her “National Perspective on Campus Priorities,” and a question-and-answer session will follow.

The campus community and public are invited.

The public forum will be videotaped and posted online after the presentation. Members of the campus community are invited to provide feedback on the candidates through noon, Friday, Oct. 28.

Tucker is associate provost and the dean of the Oklahoma State University Graduate College, serving more than 4,000 graduate students and more than 1,000 graduate faculty in over 100 graduate programs across three campuses. In 2014-15, she concurrently served as the interim vice president for research and technology transfer. Prior to joining Oklahoma State University, she was a program director for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, a designated Presidential Priority, at the National Science Foundation. She started her career at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she rose through the academic and administrative ranks as a professor of chemistry and associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate School.

Tucker received her Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry from the University of North Texas and was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Chemistry at Duke University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Kent State University. As a molecular spectroscopist with interest in chemical separations, she has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals, such as Science and Analytical Chemistry, and garnered extensive funding from federal and foundation sources, such as the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Research Corporation, in support of her work. Nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate students have been involved in her research program, leading to numerous advanced degrees.

Through implementation of creative and original activities, Tucker has worked to effectively broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in science across all age levels. In recognition of her contributions, she has been honored by the White House, receiving a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. With her long-held beliefs about the pivotal role education plays in society and her passionate commitment to mentoring as a means to improve research and education in the nation, she continues to improve access to and participation in higher education in her current roles.

The other two candidates are James Scott “Jim” Coleman, provost and vice president for academic affairs, professor of biological sciences, Northern Arizona University and Mike Sherman, vice president for innovation and economic development/ chief operating officer research foundation and professor, University of Akron.

Both have already held public forums and their presentations will also be available online Friday afternoon, Oct. 21.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.